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2008> from Cannesdaily3day

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By Liza Foreman

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde ParkEntertainment is expand-ing its Asian operations

with a multimillion dollar filmfund.

Launching this fall, the fundwill provide upward of $70 mil-

the

> from Cannes

q&awith Walter Salles

See page 8

q&awith Walter Salles

See page 8 daily3day

By Pamela Rolfe and Stuart Kemp

Paramount PicturesInternational is ramp-ing up its overseasactivities with thelaunch of a Spanish

operation and a 12-picture the-atrical output deal with veteran

producer Andres VicenteGomez and his A. Zeta banner.

The move by the Hollywoodmajor is part of its ongoing ini-tiative to set up standalone dis-tribution outfits in key territo-ries around the globe in thewake of its split from UIP twoyears ago. A similar operationwill be set up in Germany in

January 2009.The 12 handpicked titles from

Gomez are split between sixU.S. pick-ups and six Spanishproductions. First out of theblock will be “Manolete,” star-ring Adrien Brody and PenelopeCruz.

Highlights from the U.S. halfdozen include “Young PeopleFucking,” “She Found Me” and“Before the Devil Knows You’reDead.”

PPI’s Spanish operation,which will be up and runningthis July, will be headed by for-mer Paramount Home Enter-tainment marketing chief inMadrid Pierre Auger, PPI presi-dent Andrew Cripps said.Cripps told THR that the dealwith Gomez was central to thecompany’s ambitions. He saidthat PPI has sat down withGomez and his team to choose

Paramount to reign in Spain

Friday,May 16

2008THR.com

BELLY UP:Jack Black and Angelina Jolie on the“Kung Fu Panda” redcarpet Thursday night.

BELLY UP:Jack Black and Angelina Jolie on the“Kung Fu Panda” redcarpet Thursday night.

By Kirk Honeycutt

Martial arts movies have always had acertain cartoonish element, so Dream-Works’ martial-arts cartoon “Kung Fu Panda” makes

perfect sense. Taking full advantage of Cinemascope’s widescreen to splash quicker-than-the-eye action across strikingChinese landscapes, animators led by directors John Stevensonand Mark Osborne deliver a movie that is as funny as it is frantic.Though aimed primarily at youngsters, “Panda” embraceshumor that plays well across age groups and nationalities.

“Kung Fu Panda” on page 16

‘Kung Fu Panda’REVIEW

Paramount continues on page 90

By Rebecca Leffler

French banner OutsiderProds. will give audiencesan inside look at post-

World War II Germany and16th-century France with twonew projects from directors Bil-lie August and Bertrand Tav-ernier, both set to start shootingearly next year.

The production powerhousebehind 2005 boxoffice hit “SkyFighters” — the French take on“Top Gun,” which drew more

than 1.3 millionadmissions inFrance — is backwith a new slateof projects.August’s “LeJuge” (TheJudge), based inBerlin in 1944, is

co-produced by Ilann Girard’sArsam and will start shootingduring the first quarter of 2009.

The €10 million-€15 million($15 million-$23 million) Eng-lish-language film is based on

Outsider gets period projects

August

Hyde Park pumps upAsia ops with fund

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WHAT’S INSIDE

>Reviews. PAGE 12, 16, 74, 84

>Screening guide. PAGE 18

>Atelier feature. PAGE 25

>About Town. PAGE 96

Italian Cinema50th Anniversary.(right) PAGE 31

Japan. PAGE 61

SPECIAL REPORT

Outsider continues on page 90

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By Gregg Goldstein

C rystal SkyPictures hassigned “X-

Men” scribeDavid Hayter tomake his directo-rial debut withtwo genre filmshe will write. Italso has nabbed ultimate fight-ing champ Roger Huerta for its

Hayter mutatesinto helmer role

By Stuart Kemp

A aron Schneider’s “Get Low”starring Robert Duvall andSissy Spacek has sealed a co-

financing deal with K5 Interna-tional, the Germany and U.K.-based worldwide sales andfinancier run by Bill Stephens,

Daniel Baur and Oliver Simon.Produced by Richard Zanuck,

Dean Zanuck and Harrison Zanuck,“Low” is written by Schneider,C.Gaby Mitchell and Chris Proven-zano and details the story of real-life recluse Felix Bush.

The movie is being pre-soldinternationally by K5 here. ∂

THR.com/cannesnewsFriday, May 16, 2008 | day 3

5THR.com | los angeles 323.525.2000 | new york 646.654.5000 | london +44.207.420.6139 | beij ing +86.10.6512.5511 (ext. 121)

By Charles Masters

Do we have the right tocaricature God? Thisand other questionsinvolving religion andfreedom of speech

raised by the controversial Dan-ish cartoons depicting theprophet Mohammed are exam-ined by “It’s Tough Being Lovedby Jerks,” a documentary byFrenchman Daniel Lecontewhich unspools today as a spe-cial screening.

Leconte says his aim is toprovoke healthy debate, even ifthat upsets some people due totheir faith. “We have to havethis debate, because when wedo, we win the argument,” hesaid. “As soon as you explain

that it’s not Mus-lims that are tar-geted (in the car-icatures), butthose who kill inthe name of thatreligion, it’s dif-ferent. It’s likethe difference

between the Inquisition and allother Catholics. I wouldn’t putTorquemada in with Francis ofAssissi. The extremists knowthey’ll lose in debate, so theyspread terror to widen the gapbetween East and West,between Islam and democracy.”

The film follows the unprece-dented 2007 trial of a Frenchnewspaper for allegedly insult-ing the Muslim people, and with

Going to extremesLeconte provokes with ‘Jerks’ docu

By Stuart Kemp

A t least one half of thecasting crisis facingJohn Maybury’s

“Wuthering Heights” hasbeen solved in the wake ofNatalie Portman’s suddendecision to pull out of theheadline role of Cathy.

Ecosse Films, the produc-tion house run by RobertBernstein and Douglas Rae,which is producing the pic-ture, said they have securedMichael Fassbender for therole of Heathcliff.

Fassbender stars in SteveMcQueen’s “Hunger,” whichheralded the beginning of

Cannes sidebar Un CertainRegard on Thursday.

Bernstein described theHeathcliff role as “one of themost powerful and iconicromantic roles” in cinema.

Finance and sales outfitHanWay reps the title here.

Portman’s exit left the fin-anciers, sellers and producersrattled just days before the fest.

HanWay Films is hoping tohave a replacement for Port-man “within days” in the roleof Cathy.

Written by Olivia Hetreed(“Girl With a Pearl Earring”),the new adaptation plans tosteer away from “the stuffycostume drama” format.∂

“Jerks” continues on page 92

Hayter continues on page 92

By Rebecca Leffler

James Bond will get a runfor his money whenFrench production pow-

erhouse Marathon Mediaand Studio 37, the film armof Gallic telecom Orange,bring Beverly Hillsteenagers-turned-secretagents “Totally Spies!” tothe big screen.

The €8 million ($12 mil-lion) production based onthe hit series is being tar-geted for a summer 2009release date in Gaul,through Mars Distribution.The mix of traditional ani-mation and 3D, tentativelytitled “Totally Spies! TheMovie,” already has beenpre-sold to Benelux (filmsde l’Elysée), Italy (Mikado)and Eastern Europe (SPI).

Daniel Marquet’s GroupeSpies continues on page 92

Maybury’s ‘Wuthering’ has its Heathcliff

‘Leonera’ lineupCast members, from left, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santoro and Martina Gusman joindirector Pablo Trapero on the red carpet for Thursday afternoon’s premiere.

‘Get Low’ picks up financing from K5 Int’l

Duvall Spacek

Hayter

Leconte

‘Totally,’ dude: Teenspies going big screen

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By Stuart Kemp

Everyone knows investing inmoviemaking is more dan-gerous than even real

estate, but U.K. property entre-preneur Robert Whitton is upfor a gamble.

Whitton has teamed with pro-ducer Jo Gilbert (“Closing theRing”) to launch new banner theReal Holywood Production withsome £20 million ($39 million)behind it, based in Holywood,Belfast in Northern Ireland.

The first production will beGerry Lively’s “Yankee King,”starring Bill Campbell, ClaireForlani and Rosemary Harris.

The shingle’s debut slateincludes the directorial debut ofBritish thesp Simon Callow,with a big-screen version ofstage play “That Good Night.”Callow also is lined up to direct“In the Wings,” with DerekJacobi on the roster to star.

The company aims to pro-duce three movies a year along-side TV dramas and docs. ∂

By Stuart Kemp

Australia’s fledgling film co-financing market and thecountry’s only one held

during a festival — 37 South:Bridging the Gap — is launchinga new section to cater to localscreenwriters and directors hop-ing to meet the event’s hand-picked 70 producers from acrossAustralia and New Zealand.

Organizers are extending thehighly targeted meet and greetas part of the Melbourne Inter-national Film Festival. The

event will kick off a day beforethe festival begins on July 25.The new section will be titled 37South: Postscript & Direct.

Organizers also told THR ithas given Mark Hartley’s “NotQuite Hollywood” finishingfunding from its Victoria state-backed Premiere film fund.

Premiere fund manager MarkWoods is currently in Cannes tospeak to sales agents about theco-production event, butstresses that only decisionmak-ers with cash get on the invita-tion list for the event. ∂


day 3 | friday, may 16, 2008 | news

High spirits at Ko Lik FilmsEdinburgh-based stop-frame ani-mation outfit Ko Lik Films hasdrawn backing from BBCScotland and executive producerBob Last for a feature-length ver-sion of the half-hour adventuresof ghost hunters Jeff andThurston, who debuted on theBeeb’s Scottish outlet. The filmversion will feature the return ofPeter Capaldi and Alex Norton,who voiced the original shorts.The as-yet-untitled comedy willbe helmed by the writer-producerteam of Cameron Fraser and Neil Jack.

Quartet join Celluloid on ‘Rabia’Celluloid Dreams is teaming with Spain’s Telecinco Cinemaand Monfort Producciones, Colombia’s Dynamo and Mexico’sTequila Gang on “Rabia,” written and directed by SebastianCordero, whose previous film, “Cronicas,” was presented atUn Certain Regard in 2004. The $5.3 million romantic thrillerbegan principal photography in May on locations near SanSebastian, for eight weeks. Mexican actor Gustavo SanchezParra and Colombian actress Martina García lead the cast.

Huston, Ribisi takewalk in ‘Forest’Anjelica Huston, Giovanni Ribisi,Sean Austin and Ron Perlmanare lending their voices to theEnglish version of Dygra Films’animated “Spirit of the Forest.”Manga Films will handle distri-

bution in Spain, with a release date set for Sept. 5.Hollywood Fantastic Films International handles internation-al sales of “Spirit,” with its environmentally aware message.The film already has sold to 30 countries.

Myriad operating at full ‘Capacity’Myriad Pictures has picked upworldwide rights to TerryKinney’s “Diminished Capacity”starring Matthew Broderick, AlanAlda, Virginia Madsen, DylanBaker and Bobby Cannavale. Thecomedy centers on a man withmemory problems who heads ona sick-leave road trip with hissenile uncle. IFC holds U.S. rightsto the film and Myriad will rep it in Cannes.

Canal Plus sews up Dis, NL titlesPay TV group Canal Plus has grabbed multiyear broadcastingrights in France for catalog titles from Disney-ABC and NewLine Cinema. Canal Plus will hold rights for TV, VOD and itsnew “catch-up TV” online viewing service broadcast for allupcoming titles from Disney, Miramax and TouchstonePictures in addition to future seasons of its ABC series such as“Desperate Housewives.” The pay TV network also will inheritrights to air New Line’s latest titles including “The GoldenCompass” and “Sex & The City: The Movie.” The deal comple-ments Canal Plus’ previous pacts with Universal, Fox,Paramount, Dreamworks and Sony-Columbia.

digest

By Scott Roxborough

After a turbulent couple ofyears that have seen theloss of two top executives

and the rise of such local com-petitors as the Match Factoryand Beta Cinema, Germany’sBavaria Film International isgoing back to its roots.

Thorsten Ritter, the sole headof Bavaria since the Februaryexit of co-director ThorstenSchaumann, is moving to refo-cus the company by returning tothe kind of “accessible arthouse” and “ambitious main-stream” films that made its reputation.

“If you look back at the histo-ry of Bavaria, our biggest suc-cesses have been with titlesthat, while they may have anart-house sensibility, have morecrossover appeal. Films like‘Run Lola Run,’ ‘Goodbye,Lenin!’ or ‘The Man Without a

Past,’ ” Rittersaid.

Ritter points toupcoming liter-ary epic “Bud-denbrooks —Decline of a Fam-ily” starringArmin Mueller-

Stahl as examples of this newmainstream approach, whileDorris Dorrie’s “Cherry Blos-soms” and Daniel Burman’sArgentinean hit “Empty Nest”exemplify the kind of art-housecrossover Bavaria plans to domore of.

Ritter says that Bavaria also islooking to regain its position asthe “No. 1 sales agent of choicefor German filmmakers,”recently extending its long-running association with Hans-Christian Schmid by picking upthe director’s new doc with theworking title “The WonderfulWorld of Washing.” ∂

Bavaria back to basicsRitter eyes return to firm’s successful formula

Whitton rolls dice on new shingle

Oz market bridges gap for scribes

Huston Ribisi

Madsen Broderick

Ritter

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:First off, we should say congratu-lations for getting the film done intime for the festival.WALTER SALLES: I hope we didget it done. I hope we put thesubtitles all in the right places.Otherwise, it’s going to becomemore of an experimental film.That could make for a veryinteresting review in the Cahiersdu Cinema.

THR: That would be a problem. Ofcourse, this film is not experimen-tal but a slice of life in modern-day Brazil.SALLES: This is a project that

tries to go back to the roots ofBrazilian film. It’s about fourbrothers trying to break socialbarriers in four very differentways, and all four stories arebased on real events. It’s a storywe wanted to do with real spon-taneity, and that’s why you’llfind 95% of the actors are mak-ing their screen debut. It aimsfor the urgency and freshness ofyouth trying to find a way out.

THR: But it doesn’t revel in thoseconditions as much as othermovies have.SALLES: This isn’t a film thatcan be linked to other films you

may have seen in Brazilian cinema about drug-dealing, orwhere there’s a conflict betweenpolice and kids. If you look atBrazil, the temptation for vio-lence and crime is there becausethere’s a high rate of unemploy-ment. But only a very small per-centage will opt for violence andcrime — yet these are the oneswho are portrayed. We wantedto make a movie about the kidswho save themselves.

THR: So there’s a kind of sociallyconscious element to it? SALLES: What films like “Cityof God” did is very importantbecause it brought to the surfacea complex drama and createdawareness for problems thatwere there but were not seen bymany people. But if all filmsresemble “City of God,” you’llend up with a biased under-standing of a society that’smuch more complex. I liked thatfilm a lot. But it reflected a cer-tain reality, and the reality ofBrazil changes every two days.

THR: One of your previous films,“The Motorcycle Diaries,” trackeda Latin America that was in asense also under construction.How do Latin Americans view thatperiod now?SALLES: “Motorcycle Diaries”was about the story that preced-ed history. But the positionwe’re in now is not that differentfrom the one 50 years ago. Whenwe shot, we were able to inhabitscenes as if we were doing thefilms in the ’50s. We didn’t haveto re-enact anything. It’s acountry that still needs to bediscovered. At the same time,that affords a wealth of cine-matic opportunities.

THR: Such as Steven Soder-bergh’s Che movies, which take onthe same character you did andwill be at the festival, too. How doyou feel about his undertaking?SALLES: I don’t know Steven. I’dlike to applaud the fact that hedid these movies in Spanish,because Ernesto Guevara foughtfor cultural independence andlanguage is a big part of that.Very few directors would have

taken that courageous step.

THR: Switching gears, do you lookback at the earlier part of your ca-reer, especially “Central Station,”and find yourself surprised by howit’s all gone? SALLES: The funny thing is thatwhen we were shooting “CentralStation” in the middle of no-where, Fernanda Montenegro andI would look at each other and say‘will anyone be interested? I hopeour families will watch.’ It was anice surprise to see the impactthe film had. ... Cinema is linkedto risk and instability, and thedesire for discovery.

THR: That discovery is somethingthat seems to happen a lot here.SALLES: If there is one place thatstill fights for and preserves acinema with vision, it’s Cannes.It’s a place where you have amuch better understanding ofthe world. Sometimes I wishpoliticians could stop whatthey’re doing and come. They’dwatch films from Iran and Turkeyand China and maybe go backand do their jobs differently.

THR.com/cannes

Friday, May 16, 2008 | day 3q&a

Walter Salles’ career has been characterized by implausibilities.In 1998, a small Brazilian drama he directed called “Central

Station” came out of nowhere to become an indie sensation andgarner two Oscar noms, including one for best actress. His foreign-language “The Motorycle Diaries” defied the odds and earnednearly $17 million in more than four months of U.S. release. Andnext he’s taking on an iconic book, “On the Road,” that no U.S.director has succeeded in getting made. The HollywoodReporter’s Steven Zeitchik spoke to the director Thursday morn-ing after an all-night subtitling session in Paris for his latest movie,“Linha de Passe,” a picture he co-directed with Daniela Thomasabout four brothers facing challenges in modern day Sao Paulo.


For more Q&Awith Walter

Salles, go to THR.com/cannes

THR.com | los angeles 323.525.2000 | new york 646.654.5000 | london +44.207.420.6139 | beij ing +86.10.6512.5511 (ext. 121)

Walter SallesNationality: BrazilianBorn: April 12, 1956Festival Entry: “Linha dePasse,” In CompetitionSelected Filmography: “AGrande Arte” (1991), “CentralStation” (1998), “Midnight”(1998), “Behind the Sun” (2001),“The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004),“Dark Water” (2005)Notable Awards: BAFTA forbest non-English-language film;Spain Film Critics Assn. Award for“Central Station” (1999); LittleGolden Lion at Berlin for “Behindthe Sun” (2002); Prize of theEcumenical Jury at Cannes for“The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004);BAFTA for best non-English-lan-guage film for “The MotorcycleDiaries” (2005).

vital stats

day3_p8_Salles_c 5/15/08 4:14 PM Page 8

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day 3 | friday, may 16, 2008 italian international film’s 50th | world


and older viewers who grew up duringthat period. The sequel tells a similarstory in a contemporary setting and fea-tures most of the same cast.

Both were huge successes at the box-office and with critics. “Notte prima degliesami” was the third-top-grossing Italianfilm in 2006, taking in $24 million total,earning more in Italy than Hollywoodfilms such as the animated hit “Cars” andWoody Allen’s “Match Point.” The sequel

also did well, finishing among the top 10films of the year, becoming the first Ital-ian film to earn more than $1 million onopening night and earning just under $20million before its run was finished.

“When I saw the script of the first film,I told my daughter (and the films’ co-pro-ducer Federica Lucisano) not to let it getaway, no matter what the cost,” recalls IIFfounder and president Fulvio Lucisano.“But I can’t say I knew it would be as pop-ular as it was.” The film is even beingremade in France, according to Lucisano.Producers in other markets have alsoinquired about the rights.

Fausto Brizzi, the writer and director ofboth films, was also surprised by the films’massive success. “I had in mind a kind of‘Italian Graffiti,’ ” he says, referring toGeorge Lucas’ classic 1973 film. “I knew thestory was a good one. But you never knowwhat is going to resonate with the public.”

Neither Lucisano nor Brizzi rule out thepossibility of a third installment in a fewyears. “At first, Brizzi said he didn’t wantto make a sequel,” Lucisano says, “butthen, when I started to go ahead with theproject using a different writer and direc-tor, he changed his mind and came along,which is what we wanted all along.”

— Eric J. Lyman

Congratulations to

Fulvio Lucisano for his achievement in 50 years of showbiz

“When I saw the script of thefirst film, I told my daughter(and the films’ co-producerFederica Lucisano) not to letit get away, no matter whatthe cost.”— Fulvio Lucisano,IIF founder and president

From left, Andrea De Rosa, Cristiana Capotondi and NicolasVaporidis star in “Night Before Finals.”

5-16_can_Italian Films@50 e 5/14/08 7:29 PM Page 7

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THR.com/cannes

special report:Japan

ProvocateursAsian

Are edgy Japanesefilmmakers beingmarginalized by a lackof government support?

By Gavin J. Blair

TOKYO — In 1997, when she was just 27 years old, NaomiKawase won the Camera d’Or at Cannes with “Moe No Suza-ku,” making her the youngest filmmaker to ever receive theaward. With “Suzaku” also taking prizes at the Rotterdam andSingapore festivals, the future looked rosy for the talentedyoung director.

Kawase, by her own admission, is not the most accessibledirector, and her films, with their deliberate pacing and com-plex, introspective themes, are unlikely to ever have real mass-market appeal. Yet despite being feted by the national mediafor her Cannes win, Kawase struggled to find backing and sup-port for her projects over the next decade.

“It’s probably easier to get money from abroad for lessmainstream films than it is to raise it in Japan,” says Azusa Soyaof UniJapan (Japan Association for International Promotion ofthe Moving Image), a government-backed nonprofit that pro-motes the Japanese film industry abroad. “Backers are, of

worldFIRESTORMThe controversy surrounding Li Ying’s“Yasukuni” could impact future governmentfinancing of risky film projects.

Friday, May 16, 2008 | day 3

ry


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day 3 | friday, may 16, 2008 japan | world

course, concerned about getting a return ontheir investment, and with the funding forso many films decided by committees orconsortiums, it can be difficult to get thego-ahead for many projects.”

Despite these difficulties Kawase’s“Mogari No Mori” — a France-Japan co-production — took the 2007 Grand Prix atCannes, the first Japanese film to win theaward in 17 years. The film had been set toopen on only 10 screens in Japan, and evenafter her second Cannes triumph, thisincreased to only 28. In France, meanwhile,the film opened at more than 70 theaters.

On her return to Japan, Kawase met withthe minister of economy, trade and industryto present the case for more support ofdomestic filmmakers. “I told the ministerthat I am a filmmaker but that I can’t makea living from films,” she later explained at apress conference at the Foreign Correspon-dents’ Club of Japan. “The fact that I wonthe Grand Prix in Cannes means it will beeasier for me in the future to raise money formy next film — but what I want for the

Japanese movie industry is a system whereit is easier for people to get funding and tohave a movie distributed abroad.”

Neither Kawase, nor any other Japanesedirector, had a film selected for competitionat this year’s Cannes festival.

“Compared to other countries, Japanesefilmmakers have a hard time getting anypublic funding. Only the Agency for Cul-tural Affairs provides government moneyfor domestic productions,” UniJapan’s Soyasays. “If it’s an international co-production,then they can also get help from J-Pitch,another public body.”

Although some of the money comes fromthe Agency for Cultural Affairs, private

companies can also donate. In such casesthe money is distributed by another quasi-governmental body, the Japan Arts Council,which also decides who receives grants. Outof the entire JAC 2007 budget of ¥65.2 bil-lion ($629 million), movies, animation anddocumentaries collectively received a totalof ¥159 million ($1.5 million).

One project that was able to receiveassistance through this channel is “Yasuku-ni,” Li Ying’s documentary about the con-troversial Shinto shrine, which is dedicatedto the memory of Japan’s war dead. TheChinese-born, Tokyo-based directorreceived a ¥7.5 million ($72,000) grant fromthe Japan Arts Council to help make the

Southern California native Michael Arias has firmly established himself in the insular worldof Japanese anime, and now the former software designer is trying his hand at live-actionfilmmaking with a version of the 1997 German movie “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

A resident of Tokyo for most of the last 16 years, Arias worked on special effects for Hollywoodmovies like 1989’s “The Abyss” before making the move to Japan. After studying Japanese in col-lege, Arias ended up working in CG animation and spent six years writing software. His big breakcame when his Softimage Toon Shaders software was used on director Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997blockbuster “Princess Mononoke.” The package, which helps CG look like hand-drawn and paintedimages, was also picked up by DreamWorks for 1998’s “The Prince of Egypt” and used again byMiyazaki for 2001’s “Spirited Away,” which won an Oscar and remains Japan’s highest-grossing film.

“The software being used for ‘Mononoke’ gave me an inroad into the Japanese anime world —it’s a kind of cottage industry centered round a relatively small group of people,” Arias says.

After working on a number of projects, includingproducing 2003’s “The Animatrix,” Arias was ableto make 2006’s “Tekkon Kinkreet,” based on amanga of which he was a longtime fan. As well asbeing the first foreigner to take the helm of aJapanese anime feature, Arias took some novelapproaches to creating a unique look for the film.

“We had a set of tools that allowed us to simu-late hand-held camera work, dolly and aerialshots, and so on,” explains Arias. “Althoughanime purists reject some of this as an imitationof live-action.”

“As for being the first foreign director of ananime, it was a nonissue to me until we beganshowing ‘Tekkon’ at international festivals,” con-tinues Arias, adding that he was baffled at thereaction of some U.S. anime fans who didn’t regardit as real Japanese anime. “It’s a bizarre argument— like saying only Italians can cook pasta.” Perhapssurprisingly to some, the attitude back in Japanwas more accepting: In February “Tekkon” won theJapan Academy Award for best animated film.

With an impressive résumé and experience inHollywood, a big-budget U.S. animated film wouldappear be the next logical step, but Arias says heisn’t interested. “There aren’t that many projectsthat I think worthy of such a time-consuming andpotentially draining enterprise as longform anima-tion. ‘Tekkon,’ for example, was a three-year project— that’s a significant chunk of your life — so it hasto be something inspiring,” he says.

Instead, Arias has made “Heaven’s Door,” anadaptation of the road move starring Germanheartthrob Til Schweiger. While shooting the film,which has been rewritten and set in Japan, Ariassays he encountered some inevitable challengesin making the leap to live-action. “There aremany shots you just can’t pull off because ofphysical limitations. In animation, one doesn’thave those sorts of restrictions,” he observes. “Inthe end, though, I think the task of directing —live-action or animation — is not so different. Thetechnology is worlds apart, of course, but thegrammar of film is the same.” – Gavin J. Blair

“Tekkon Kinkreet”

“Compared to other countries, Japanese filmmakershave a hard time getting any public funding. Only the

Agency for Cultural Affairs provides government money for domestic productions.”

— Azusa Soya, UniJapan

Western StarCalifornia-born filmmaker Michael Arias makes hismark in the close-knit Japanese film sector


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